Veterans Affairs ending Commissionaires' $330M federal contracting right

Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — The largest private sector employer of veterans in Canada is calling on the Liberal government to reverse a decision to end a federal contracting entitlement which grants it first dibs on federal security guard contracts.

The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires is even taking the federal government to court over the loss of its contracting right, claiming it is at risk of losing some $330 million a year in revenue.

Canada’s only national not-for-profit security company has enjoyed the right of first refusal since the Second World War — a measure put in place to secure employment opportunities for Canadian veterans.

Michel Charron, CEO of the Commissionaires Ottawa division, said he was “surprised” and “disappointed” when the firm received notice out of the blue that Ottawa will terminate the 80-year-old preferential contracting policy.

“We don’t know why the government decided to cancel the right,” Charron told The Canadian Press.

“They didn’t give us any reasons, other than to say that (Veterans Affairs) wanted to reassess the right of first refusal to ‘determine the continued relevance of it within today’s veteran employment landscape.’”

Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight warned the organization in a letter earlier this year the policy will end in April 2027, giving the Commissionaires a one-year grace period to “ensure a smooth and measured transition to a competitive procurement process.”

“The government is confident that the Corps’ deep expertise and long history in delivering guard services will position your organization for continued success in this new procurement environment,” McKnight’s Feb. 27 letter said.

Charron said he hasn’t been able to secure a meeting with McKnight to protest the decision.

McKnight’s office sent a written statement to The Canadian Press late Friday vowing the government “remains firmly committed” to supporting veterans through the National Veteran Employment Strategy.

But the minister’s office did not answer the question of why it is ending the contracting policy.

The Commissionaires’ court filing notes federal lobby records show senior government officials have taken a series of meetings with the private security company Garda since the fall about procuring security guards.

A 2022 letter from a large group of security guard contractors to then-veterans affairs minister Lawrence MacAulay called for ending the “virtual monopoly” on guard contracts for federal offices.

Charron said that while federal contracts represent a “fair percentage of our annual revenues,” his organization was “built on delivering on a social mandate” to provide meaningful employment to veterans and their families.

The Commissionaires employs some 3,500 veterans out of its 20,000 employees. The federal contracting right provides employment to about 8,000 people, roughly a quarter of them veterans.

The firm also contributes philanthropically to veterans’ programming and non-profits such as Soldier On, Perley Health and the Pepper Pod, Charron noted.

Conservative veterans affairs critic Blake Richards said if the Liberals do ultimately end the contracting right, they must “ensure a system is put in place which prioritizes businesses and organizations that focus on hiring veterans.”

Royal Canadian Legion spokesperson Nujma Bond said the Legion has worked closely with the Commissionaires and hopes this decision “does not negatively impact veterans or their access to employment in this field.”

“We support the ongoing prioritization of programs that help ensure veterans can find work,” she said.

A briefing document prepared for McKnight when she took on the portfolio last year said the contracting policy includes a requirement that a minimum of 60 per cent of the hours worked under a contract must be done by veterans. It said the firm has consistently failed to meet that benchmark.

“Data provided by the Corps has shown that they have not been able to meet the 60 per cent target for over ten years,” the briefing document said.

“The percentage of Veterans employed by the Corps has been decreasing over time,” the briefing document stated. The data was redacted from the document.

According to the court filing, about 25 to 30 per cent of the hours under these contracts are worked by veterans.

The court documents said several factors, including government-prescribed wage levels and the declining number of veterans, have rendered the Commissionaires unable to meet the hours benchmark since the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

They also said the organization told the government it needed to secure contracts with higher guard wages to attract more veterans.

The 60 per cent target has existed since 2006, when the firm opened its doors to non-veterans due to a dramatic surge in demand for guard services after the September 2001 terror attacks.

Charron said veterans are spread out across the country and his organization must sometimes hire non-veterans for work in certain locations.

Veterans Affairs has never imposed any consequences for missing the target, Charron said.

The court filing said that in 2025, Paul Ledwell, then-deputy minister of Veterans Affairs, suggested in a meeting that the department and the Commissionaires could renew the policy with alternative measures replacing the targets.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2026.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press